When my daughter was four years old, she was obsessed with Princess Tiana from Disney’s The Princess and The Frog, so for Halloween, she wanted to dress up as (you guessed it) Princess Tiana. I bought her costume from Toys R Us and it was perfect for her: Green (My daughter’s favorite color) with gorgeous flowers, sequence, and glitter all over. She loved wearing the costume and she looked like a beautiful little princess. There was one detail we overlooked. My daughter is White and Princess Tiana is Black.
You would not believe how many times people answered their doors that Halloween night and said, “What a beautiful little Tinker Bell!” Before I could say anything, my feisty four year old firecracker of a daughter quickly corrected them. “No, I’m Princess Tiana!” One lady took me aback when she looked at me and asked, “But isn’t she Black?”
Excuse me? Who cares if the princess is Black, White, Asian, or Hispanic? These are little girls we are talking about who just want to live out their dream of being their favorite princess. They should be able to dress up as any princess they want without being questioned, judged, and given funny looks or rude comments. They are precious and innocent little girls and this is their night to shine, but because of rude judgmental people that night, my daughter did not have a very “Happy Halloween.”
To the obnoxious lady that judged my daughter for dressing like a princess that wasn’t her own race, listen up! Until the end of time, little girls are going to be dressing like Disney princesses and I am certain Disney will keep them coming. There will be White Tianas, Black Elsas, Asian Snow Whites, and Hispanic Rapunzels. Deal with it or the next time you break a little princess’ heart, I’m going to personally Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boop you in the face!